Gold seen in neutron star collision debris

Material ejected in gamma-ray bursts may be source of heavy elements

GOLD EXPLOSION New observations suggest that colliding neutron stars (shown in this artist's conception) produce short gamma-ray bursts. Such collisions also eject material that may be the source of the universe's gold and other heavy elements.

Images snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope suggest that gold may have been generated by a violent neutron star collision that also yielded lead, platinum, uranium and other heavy elements.

The stellar smashup was detected on June 3, when NASA’s Swift satellite observed a gamma-ray burst 3.9 billion light-years away. Astrophysicists believe that a crash between two neutron stars, the dense, neutron-rich cores left over after massive stars explode, released the 0.2-second flash of energy.

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